Marine transmission



A. B. scHuL-rz Erm.

MARINE TRANSMISSION Filed Dec. 19, 1941i` June 8, 1943?.

3 Shee-ts-Sheet- 1 fig. 1

f Arthur 35o/:M12 l BY r Theodor-623115!! Julie 8. 1943 A. B. SCHUL-r2 r'Al. i 2,321,255

MARINE TRANSMISS ION Filed Dec. 19, 1941 3 Sheets-Shl: 2

4a BY June 8` 1943- A. B. SCHUL-rz Erm. 2,321,255

MARINE TRANSMISSION Y Filed Dec. 19.z 1941 3 sheets-sheet :s

Patented .lune

2,321,255 nahme TRANSMISSION Arthur B. Schultz, Berkeley, and Theodore llt.

Bush, Royal Oak, Mich., assignors to Kermath Manufacturing Gompany, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application December 19, 1941, Serial No. 423,660

(Cl. l923.5)

Claims.

This invention relates to reverse gears or power operating parts of the mechanism are arranged and supported, a main clutch lha brake ld, and

positive clutches it and it. The driving member 2li of the main clutch l2 may be driven by and mounted upon one end of a power shaft 22 such as the crank shaft of an engine. The driven part 2t of the main clutch l2 is fixed to rotate with the main or driving shaft Za of the transmission which is axiauy aligned with the shaft 2z and I journaled in suitable bearings provided in the transmission case it. The clutch members 2t,

' and 2d are each provided with clutch disks 2t To provide a simple and dependable control mechanism for a reverse gear which is .designed to release the transmission brake substantially simultaneously with engagement of the main clutch and which will permit shifting of the shift lever from neutral into either forward or reverse gear position even though the clutch teeth may abut.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which there are Vtion of the arrows, with certain parts broken Sway ' Fig. 3 is a plan view of the operating parts of the reverse gear with certain parts broken away and as they would appear with the upper part of the transmission case andthe main shaft removed;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 1

t but illustrating the relationship of the partswith the shift lever in reverse position and with the teeth of the positive clutch abutting;

Fig. 5 is a view 4similar to Fig. 1 but with the parts thereof arranged in forward drive position;

f and y Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6 6 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

As illustrated in the embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration, a reverse gear embodying the invention, referring now particularly to Figs. l, 2 and 3, consists in `general of a housing or case l0 inwhich the arranged as illustrated" in Fig. l and adapted when pressed together by the pressure pins Si@ of the clutch l2 to ,establish a drive from the shaft 22 through clutch member 2t, disks 2B, clutch member 2d to the main shaft 25. A series of pins Sii are axially slidably mounted in holes formed in a. plate 32 amxed to the driven clutch member 2d to rotate therewith. The pinsd@ are carried by a pressure plate 3d which is slidable within the annular flange Bt formed on the periphery of the plate 32. l,

The main shaft 26 has provided thereon gears 38 and lill. The gear it is in constant mesh with the countershaft gear d2 which is journaled on a stationary shaft dd supported by the transmission case l@ and arranged parallel to and in spaced relation with the main shaft 26. The countershaft gear d2 is in constant mesh with a reverse gear #36 journaled on the driven shaft t@ which in turn is journaled in bearings provided in the transmission case l0. The shaft d8 is arranged parallel to and spaced from the axis of the main shaft 26. The driven shaft t8 is the output shaft of the `transmission and projects outside of the case i@ (to the right in Fig. 1) where it may be provided with a coupling member or gear of a V-drive for transmitting power to the propeller shaft and propeller of the vessel.

'Ihe teeth of the gear 38 are in constant mesh with the teeth of a forward gear 5t which is journaled on the shaft tt. A clutch member 52 is slidably splined to the shaft @8 between the gears d6 and 50 and is provided with lugs or-teeth 54 and 56 which form parts of the clutches It and I8 respectively. The gear t6 is provided with axially projecting teeth 58 adapted to be coupled with the'teeth 5d and which forms a. clutch 'I6 and which is adapted to provide` a positive drive between the reverse gear 46 and the driven shaft 48 when the clutch member 52 is shifted to the left, looking at Fig. l. 'I'he gear 50 is provided with teeth 60 adapted to be coupled with the teeth 56 of the clutch member 52 to provide a positive drive between the forward gear 50 and the shaftl 48 when the clutch member 62 is shifted to the right (Fig. 1). When the teeth 66 and 60 which comprise the clutch I8 are coupled the transmission will be set to provide a forward drive for the propeller, whereas when the teeth 58 and 54, which comprises the clutch I6, are coupled the transmission will be set to provide a reverse drive for thepropeller.

'I'he brake I4 comprises a friction band 10 arranged externally ofthe flange 36 of the plate 32, the ends of the band being anchored to members 12 which are biased toward each other for applying the brake by a spring 14, the ends of which are secured to pins 16 carried by the members 12. The members 12 are held apart by levers 18 pivoted at 80, the free ends of the levers 18 bearing against suitably oppositely disposed surfaces formed on the members 12. A shiftable bar 82 formed in the shape of a wedge and disposed between the ends of the members 18 is adapted to be moved to the right, looking at Fig. 3, to. separate the members 12 and effect the release of the brake I4. In the position in which the parts of the brake are illustrated in Figs. l and 3, the brake is engaged due to the action of the spring 14. Suitable means, not shown, are provided to hold the 'oand 10 and members from rotating with drum 36. l

The clutch I2 is released in the position in which the parts are illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. A collar 86 slidably keyed on the main shaft 26 between the clutch member 24 and a bearing 1 for the shaft 26 is adapted to be shifted from K nected at 90 to a member 92 pivotally mounted at 94 on a disk 96 carried by and rotatable with the clutch member 24. Each of the members 92 has a shoulder which is adapted'to engage the edge of the clutch pressure plate 34 for shifting the same to the left, looking at Fig. 1, so as to clamp the clutch disks 28 together for the purpose of engaging the clutch I2. Only one of the links 88 and members 92 are illustrated in the drawings but several, preferably three or four, are used. The clutch collar 86 is adapted to be shifted by a fork which runs in a groove |02 formed on the collar 86. The fork |00 is fixed to a rockable shaft |04 which is suitably journaled in the side walls of the transmission case I0. The fork |00 `is formed integrally with a bifurcated arm |06 which has a pivotal connection at |08 to the end of the brake releasing member 82. The shaft |04 is adapted to be rocked as hereinafter described and when the parts of the transmission are shifted from the position in which they are illustrated in Fig. 1 to the positions in which they are illustrated in Figs. 4 or 5, the fork |00 and arm |06 are adapted to engage the clutch I2 simultaneously with the relea-se of the brake I4 and vice versa.

The shiftable parts of the transmission are adapted to be actuated or shifted by a shift lever IIO which is fixed to a part of a rock shaft I I2 Y which projects out of the transmisison case I0. The shaft II2 is journaled in suitable bearings in the walls of the transmission case, Within the case the shaft |I2 has xed to it a pair of spaced triangular shaped plates II4, each of which is provided with aligned slots II6 and |I8. The plates II4 straddle a `shift rail |20 which carries the fork |22, the fork |22 running in a groove of the clutch member 52 and being adapted to shift the same between its various positions.' The fork |22 is provided with a hub |24 which is fastened to the rail |20. The ends of the rail are slidably mounted in suitable bores formed in the walls of the transmission; case. A lost motion connection is provided between the plates |I4 and the shift rail |20 and comprises a vpin |26 extending through a transverse slotv |28 tending through the rail |20. When the transmission is in neutral the pin |26 is held in the right hand end of slot |28 by the spring |30 and is normally arranged at the bend in the slots II6 as illustrated in Fig. 1. Another pin |34 extending transversely through a slot |36 formed in the rail |20 and projecting into the slots |I8 in the members II4 is normally confined in the left hand end of the slot |36 by a spring |36 arranged within the rail |20 between the pin |34 and the stationary pin |40. Thus when the shift lever IIO is shifted from its neutral position to its reverse position, for example as illustrated in Fig. 4, the triangular shaped members II4 act on the pin |26 which in turn acts on the spring |30 and the shift rail |20, the shift fork |22 and the clutch member y54.

The tongue |42 which forms apart of the slots II6 and II8 will move in a clockwise direction about the axis of the shaft I|2 and shift the clutch member from its neutral position, as illustrated in Fig. 1, to a position in which the clutch member 54 is illustrated in Fig. 4. In the position in which the teeth of the clutch I6 are illustrated in Fig. 4, the beveled ends or faces |44 of the teeth 54 and 58 are abutting, thereby preventing the coupling of the teeth which is necessary to provide the drive between the gear 46 and the shaft 48. The spring |30, however, is compressed by the movement of the shift lever I|0 to its reverse position, thereby creating a force which will shift the clutch` member 54 to couple the teeth of the clutch I6 when they are properly lined up which will occur as `soon as the main clutch I2 is engaged. In the position in which the clutch member 54 is illustrated in Fig. 1, the main clutch I2 is disengaged and the brake I4 is applied so that if the boat is not moving the shaft 48 will be stationary. However, if the boat is drifting forwardly, the shaft 48 will turn in the direction indicated by the arrow |50 in Fig. 1, and if the boat is drifting rearwardly, the shaft 48-.will turn in the opposite direction.

If the teeth 54 and 50 abut when there is no relative rotation between the gear 46 and the shaft 48 when the shift lever I I0 is shifted from neutral to reverse position as previously described, the clutch member 54 will be stopped in its movement in the position illustrated in Fig. 4. However, the control mechanism for engaging the clutch I2 and disengaging the brake I4 is connected so that when the member 54 reaches approximately the position illustrated in Fig. 4, the main clutch I2 will begin to engage and the brake I4 will begin to release, thereby driving the gear 46 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4. As soon-as the gear 46 begins to move, assuming that the clutch member 54 is stationary, the bevel |44 0n the teeth will permit the teeth 64 and 58 to slide into complete engagement under the influence of the spring |30 which, acting on the pin |32, will cause the shift rail to move to the left and bring the right hand end of the slot |28 up against the pin |26.

When the shift lever I| is restored to neutral, the part of the member ||4 which defines the slot H5 will engage the pin |26 and shift the same from the position illustrated in Fig. 4 to the position illustrated in Fig. 1, thereby restoring the shift rail |20 and clutch member 54 to neutral in the slots |72 and |68. When the shift lever IIO is shifted from neutral toreverse the roller |64 carried by the plates |60 moves into the dwell |84 in the slot |68 while the roller |66 acting position. When the shift lever I0 is shifted from neutral to reverse, the pin |26 will move from the bend in the slot ||6 toward the open end of the slot while the pin |34 will move toward the closed end of the slot ||8. When the shift lever H0 is restored to neutral from reverse, and as the pin |26 is in the path of movement of the member I4, the pin |26 will be positively move'd to the right and as soon as the pin |26 moves against the right hand end of the slot |28 the shift rail will be positively returned to its neutral position. Of course, if the teeth 54 and 58 should be properly aligned when the shift lever is shifted into reverse from neutral, .then .the clutch member 58 will be shifted all the way to its leftmost position. Y

The action of the lost motion connection when the shift lever is shifted from neutral to' forward position is the same as that just described, except that in this case member |I will shift from the position illustrated in Fig. 1 to the position illustrated in Fig. 5 and the shifting will take place due to the co-actiton between the pin |30, the member Hd, the slot ||8 therein, the slot |36 in the rail |20, and the spring |38. The clutch member 51| is illustrated in position with the clutch I8 fully engaged in Fig. 5 so as to provide a forward drive for the vessel.

From the 'foregoing it will be seen that alost motion connection is provided between the clutch member 54 and the shift lever |I0 so that if the teeth of the clutches |6 or |8 abut when the shift lever is shifted from neutral into either forward or reverse, the shift lever atgone time may be shifted through to forward or reverse positions and the clutches |6 or |B will engage as soon as relative rotation between the teeth thereof occurs which happens when the main clutch |2 is engaged andthe brake I4 is released, as will now be described.

A There is lixedly secured to one of the triangular.

plates l d a pair of spaced plates |60 forming part of a toggle mechanism; The plates |60 are joined together by pins |62 at two of the corners thereof and the pins provide a support for sleeves or rollers |64 and |66. The roller |64 is arranged in a slot |68 provided in aA link |10 and the roller |66 is arranged in a slot |12 formed in link |16. The links |10 and |14 are pivoted on a shaft |16 carried by the arms of a fork |18 fixed to the shaft |04 to move therewith. The links |10 and |14 are arranged between the arms of the fork |18 and are biased together by a leaf spring |80 which bears against the kupper side of the link |14 and the lower side of the link |10. The pins |82 extend through suitable openings formed in the spring so as to keep the same in position. A link pivotally connected at |92 to one of the plates |60 has a slot connection with a pin |85 carried by an arm |96 formed on the fork |18.

With the parts arranged as illustrated in Fig. 1, the spring |80 holds the links |10 and |14 together with the rollers |64 and |66 at the bends against the link |14 moves to the opposite end ofy the slot |12.

The initial movement of the plate |60 in a clockwise direction with the shaft ||2 willjmove the right hand end of the slot in the link |80 up against the pin in the link |86, the roller |64 into the dwell |94, and will cause the rollerA les to move in the slot n2 arid open the nnks |10, |18 against the action of the spring |60.

The initial movement of the shift lever III Vfrom neutral to reverse will move the clutch the center of the roller |66 to the center of the pivot |`|6 so that as the roller |64 moves with the plate |60 in a clockwise direction the roller |68' will react against the wall of the slot |68 and cause the link |10 to shift the pivot |16 and Ifork |'i8 to which it is connected in a clockwise direction. This movementof the fork |18 will shift the clutch collar from its neutral position to that illustrated in Fig; 4 to engage the clutch and will simultaneously move the brake arm |06 in a clockwisev direction for. the purposeof releasing the brake it.

In shifting from reverse back to neutral, the parts will return to the position illustrated in Fig. l and the right hand end of the slot in the link |80 will move against the pin |85 and thereby positively move the arm |86 in a counterclockwise direction, thereby positively moving the clutch collar 06 -to its disengaged position and the member 82 of the brake to its disengaged position.

In shifting from neutral to reverse, the rollers |60 and |56 will spread the links |10 and |14 farther than they are ispread in Fig. 4 so that the spring |80 acting on the links I 10 and |10 and the rollers |64 and |66 will function as detents for holding the parts of the transmissionin a. reverse position.

In shifting from reverse back to neutral, the brake M will be applied simultaneously with the disengagement of the clutch so as to break the drive through the transmission, thereby taking the load oi the teeth of the clutch 6, and after this'has happened the clutch member 54 will be shifted to disengage the clutch I6.

When the transmission is shifted from neutral vto forward position, which is illustrated in Fig. 5, the plates |60, rollers |68 and |66, and the links |10 and |14 will cooperate in a manner similar to that previously described in connection with the action on shifting from neutral to reverse, except that when the shift is made to forward, the plates |60 will move in a counterclockwise direction and the roller |66 will seat in the dwell 200 of the slot |12 whereas the vroller |64 will move into the opposite end of the slot |68. The initial movement of the shift lever I0 from neutral into forward will shift the clutch member 54 to a position Where' the teeth of the clutch I6 will abut if they are not in line, and thereafter further movement of the shift lever ||0 toward the forward position will release the brake I4 simultaneously with the engagement of the clutch I2 and engage the teeth of clutch I8 if linedy up.

In Fig. 6- there is illustrated a dash pot which functions to slow down movement of the shift rail |20. The end of the rail is journaled in a bore in the wall of the transmission case, the bore being closed by a plug '228 and the interior of'the raili20 being closed by a plug 222. The space between the plugs 220 and 222 is filled with oil and supplied from a source such as a reservoir 224 arranged above the rail |20. A metering plug 226 is fitted in the bottom f lthe oil reservoir 224 and restricts the flow of oilfrom the reservoir 224 to the chamber 228 provided by the bore in which the rail |20 is slidable. The rail |20 is shown in its neutral position. When it moves from such position to its reverse position, it will move to the left and consequently must force the oll from the chamber 228 through the metering plug 226 into the reservoir 224. A similar dash pot is provided on the other end of the rail I2!! for checking its movement to the right. A groove 230 communicating with the chambery 228 and with the reservoir 224 below the plug 226 conducts oil therebetween. I'he reservoir 224 may form a seat for a spring 232 which acts on the shaft` in -such a manner so as to aid in shifting the clutch collar 86 back to its disengaged position and to aid in releasing the brake I4.

While the invention has been described with some detail, it is to be understood that the description is for the purpose of illustration only and is not definitive of the limits of the inventive idea. The right is rserved to make such changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts as will fall within the purview of the attached claims.

We claim:

l. In a marine power transmission system, driving means and driving and driven shafts, a main clutch engageable and disengageable for controlling the drive between said means and said driving shaft, gearing including a toothed clutch and operable for establishing a driving connection between said driving and driven shafts, said clutches comprising shiftable clutch members having released and engaged positions and mechanism for controlling said clutches comprising a shift lever, connections between said shift lever and said clutch members for shifting the latter upon movement of the former and so as to, move said clutch member of said toothed clutch to engage the teeth thereof before said clutch member of said main clutch is moved sufficiently to engage the same, said connection between said shift lever and said toothed clutch including a lost motion connection which will permit continued movement of said shift lever and the engagement of said main clutch if the teeth of said toothed clutch are misaligned upon shifting of said shift lever to set up a drive between Said driving means and said driven shaft, said lost motion connection comprising a shift rail having a stop thereon, a pin carried by said rail, a spring operatively arranged between said pin and said stop, a lever adapted to be actuated by said shift lever and having a slot therein into which said pin extends, one` wall of said slot functioning, upon movement of said shift lever to set up a drive, to move said pin for the purpose of shifting said rail in one direction through force transmitted through said spring, and another wall of said slot functioning, upon movement of said shift lever to break the drive, to positively move said pin and shift rail in the opposite direction, and a fork carried by said rail and connected with said clutch member of said toothed clutch for sluiting the same into and out of engaged position.

2. In a marine power transmission system, driving and driven shafts, gearing including a toothed clutch operable for establishing a driving connection between said shafts, said clutch comprising a shiftable clutch member having released and engaged positions, and mechanism for controlling said clutch comprising a shift lever, a connection between said shift lever and said clutch member for shifting the latter upon movement of the former and so as to move said clutch member to engage the teeth of said clutch, said connection between said shift lever and said toothed clutch member including a lostmotion connection which will permit continued movement of said shift lever to clutch engaged position thereof if the teeth of said clutch are misaligned upon shifting of said shift lever to set up a drive between said driving and driven shafts, said lost motion connection providing positive disengagement of said clutch upon restoring said shift lever toneutral position, said lost motion connection comprising a shift rail having a stop thereon, a pin carried by said rail, a spring operatively arranged between said pin and said stop, a lever adapted to be actuated by said shift lever and having a slot therein into which said pin extends, one wall of said slot functioning, upon movement of said shift lever to set up a drive, to move said pin for the purpose of sluiting said rail in one direction through force transmitted through said spring, and another wall of said slot functioning, g

upon movement of said shift lever to break the drive, to positively move said pin and shift rail in the opposite direction, and a fork carried by said rail and connected with said clutch member of said clutch for shifting the same into and out of engaged position.

@..In a marine power transmission system, driving means and driving and driven shafts, a main clutch engageable and disengageable for controlling the drive between said means and said driving shaft, gearing including a toothed clutch and operable for establishing a driving connection between said driving and driven shafts, said' clutches comprising shiftable clutch members having released and engaged positions and mechanism for controlling said clutches comprising a manual shift lever, connections between said shift lever and said clutch members for shifting the latter upon movement of the former and so as to move said clutch member of said. toothed clutch to engage the teeth thereof before said clutch member of said main clutch is moved sufficiently to engage the same, said connection between said shift lever and said toothed clutch including a lost motion connection which will perm1t continued movement of said shift lever and .the engagement of said main clutch if the teeth of said toothed clutch are misaligned upon shifting of said shift lever to set up a drive between said driving means and said driven shaft, said lost. motion connection comprising a shift rail having a stop thereon, a pin carried by said rail, a spring operatively arranged between said pin and said stop, a lever adapted to be actuated by said shift lever and having va slot therein into which said pin extends, one Wall of said slot functioning, upon movement of said shift lever to set up a drive, to move said pin for the purpose of shifting said rail in one direction through force transmitted through said spring, and anpositively move said pin and shift rail in the opposite direction, and a fork carried by said and said shift lever in either released or engaged position of the clutches.

4. In a marine power transmission system having a clutch which is engageable and disengageable for controlling the drive between the input and output shafts of the transmission, said clutch comprising a shiftable clutch member having released and engaged positions, a mechanism for controlling said clutch comprising a shift lever, a connection between said shift lever and said clutch member for shifting the latter upon movement of the former so as to move said clutch member to engage and release the clutch, said connection comprising a toggle mechanism which includes a pair of links having a; pivotal connection with each other at one end thereof, a pivoted arm connected to said pivotal connection and adapted to shift said-clutch member, each of said links being provided with a slot, a spring urging said links together, an actuating link having pins, one for and extending into each of said slots, said actuating link being mounted upon a rock shaft which has a neutral position and a clutch engaged positionon each side of saidneutral position, and means for rocking said shaft from its neutral position to either of the clutch engaged positions so as toy actuate said toggle for engaging said clutch.

5. A marine power transmission comprising driving and driven members, means including a. clutch operable for establishing a drive between said members and including a shiftable part operable for engaging and disengaging said clutch,

a shift lever operable for shifting said part between clutch engaged and disengaged positions, a shaft upon which said shift lever is mounted, a fork connected with said part for .shifting the same, a toggle between said shaft and said fork comprising an actuating link xed to rock with said shaft in a plane-normal to the axis thereof,

' a pair'of links pivotally connected together at one end thereof and connected with said fork for shifting the same, each of said links of said pair having a pin and slot connection with said actuating link, a spring biasing said links of said pair together, said toggle being operable when the shiftable part of said clutch is in clutch disengaged position and upon movement of said shiftlever in either direction for shifting said part into clutch engaged position for engaging said clutch.

ARTHUR B. SCHULTZ.

THEODORE R. BUSH. 

